


Guess It's Not So Bad

by Glitchy_Stormcloud



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M, Siren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24920962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitchy_Stormcloud/pseuds/Glitchy_Stormcloud
Summary: During the middle of summer, Virgil's parents send him to a Summer Camp. Because he arrives so late, Virgil is afraid that he'll be alone for the duration of his stay. When he arrives, he meets his cabin mates who are honestly some of the best people he's ever met. A few weeks after arriving, they find something that leaves them all speechless. Something that should be impossible. Something that will bond them together forever. (No distinct ages all the kids are between 12 and 14)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Guess It's Not So Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/638401) by Glitchy_Stormcloud. 



> If you would prefer to listen vs read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PT5NcNteQ

Virgil

Virgil stared out the window of the empty bus as it trudged through the nearly invisible trail and sighed. His parents had decided to send him to some summer camp for the month, Camp Spiritmoon, if he remembered correctly. The camp had already been going on for a month now, so everyone would already know each other. He swallowed the tightness in his throat and turned up his earbuds, which were playing “Sincerely Me” from his Dear Evan Hansen playlist. It had been only trees for the past hour and he was starting to wonder if the driver was taking him somewhere to kill him and dispose of the body. Seemed legit enough. A little longer down the road, Virgil could make out a sign that read: Welcome to camp Moonridge! In big, bold letters that arched over an area big enough for the bus to pass through. Oh, ya, that was it, Moonridge. When the bus stopped in front of a lodge looking building, Virgil slowly grabbed his bag and deliberately and carefully left the bus. 

Waiting for him was a man and a kid. The boy had dirty-blonde hair,m accompanying bright, blue eyes, the man had dark brown hair and eyes. “Hello,” the man, most likely the head counselor, chirped, “you must be Virgil!” No, duh he thought and winced at how bubbly the man was. But, he managed to keep a smile on his face, not wanting to be rude. “My name is Thomas, the head counselor here, and this is Patton, my assistant for today.” The boy, Patton, who looked to be around his age, smiled a huge smile and waved, before skipping over and hugging the emo child. On most occasions, Virgil did not approve of touching. Heck, he hardly knew this kid. But there was an energy that radiated off of Patton, and he couldn’t help but hug back. “Come on!” Patton exclaimed excitedly, and grabbed Virgil’s hand, “I’ll show you to your cabin!” The two boys ran to where the cabins were, or rather Patton dragged the poor kid who had no idea what was happening and just tried to keep up.

They came across a fairly sized building with a gold “6” next to the door, and Patton entered, Virgil in tow. There were four beds in the large room and another door across from which they just entered. Each bed had a bland peach blanket, along with 3 of them having a different colored one. 3 out of four of them were made. The two closest to the door both had blue ones, the bed on the left, the most neat, with dark blue, the bed to the right, light blue. The bed in the back, to the left, the messy one, had a red blanket while it’s companion had no color at all. Patton sat on the bed with the light blue blanket and motioned to the untouched, colorless, one. “We’re in the same lodge,” he smiled, “that’s your bed. Do you want some time to get situated, or do you want to go meet our other cabin-mates?” Virgil honestly just wanted a little alone time, though he was already becoming accustomed to Patton’s presence. “If you could give me a little time to situate, that would be great.” Patton nodded and hopped out the door and sat on the front steps, waiting for his new companion. 

Virgil sighed once the door was closed, observing the room once more. He walked to the bland bed and set his black backpack onto it and pulled out his own purple blanket. He threw it on the bed and messed up the sheets so it looked even worse than that of the red blanket. He smirked at the one-way competition he had just won. He put away his earbuds and changed his shirt; swapping a bulky, black long sleeve, for a pale purple tank-top and his favorite sweatshirt tied around his waist. He got up and took a few deep breaths to prepare himself, he never did like meeting new people, before opening the door. Patton was still waiting on the steps, humming to himself. “Hey, I’m ready,” Patton turned to his voice and smiled again, standing up and leading them back to the field. 

As they approached, the sound of laughing and playing got louder. With each step, Virgil’s stomach tightened. The only thing keeping him from a panic attack, was Patton’s confident, reassuring hand wrapped around his. As they exited the trees into the clearing, he saw kids in their own groups, messing around and laughing. A few adults littered the area, helping the kids or just making sure no one killed each other. Patton excitedly pulled him towards two kids huddled over a baby bunny. One had glasses, similar to Patton’s, and clutched a notebook to his chest. The other was squealing nonsense about how cute the rodent was and held his fists to his face, squishing his tan cheeks a little. His bright green eyes sparkled in wonder. “Patton!” the very over-dramatic one exclaimed and waved him over, “we found a bunny!” Patton gasped and started running over, Virgil followed soute. The other was busy scribbling in the small hard-cover notebook, and hadn’t paid any attention to their arrival. 

“Who’re you?” he asked when he noticed Virgil in their little group and brushed his milk-chocolate hair from his eyes. Panic seized through Virgil’s body. He’d butted right into their conversation without asking now they’re gonna hate him. What should he do, what should he- “He’s our new roomie!” Patton answered, breaking his thoughts, and unintentionally saving him from a mental breakdown. “Oh.” The boy simply said then smiled. “My name’s Roman,” he continued, and Virgil was once again pulled into an embrace. It was sideways and a bit awkward, which Roman seemed to notice, but it also didn’t seem to bother him, either. “Sooooo, what’s your name?” Roman asked expectantly. “Virgil,” Virgil managed, still calming his breathing. Logan looked up from the book and held out his hand hesitantly. “Salutations, Virgil,” he started while un-needingly adjusting his glasses, “My name is Logan.” Virgil could now make out his dark brown, almost black, eyes that accompanied his black hair and pale complection. He shook his hand, thankful for the reduced contact. 

It was obvious that, like himself, Logan wasn’t much into that “touchy feely” stuff, which was a relief that he wasn’t the only one. It was also painfully obvious that the other two were complete opposites, and were practically always touching someone. Roman huffed and Patton whined as the added commotion had scared the bunny into sprinting away. Virgil couldn’t help but smirk at their antics, while Logan just looked annoyed. “There goes my specimen.” Virgil heard the boy mutter. Logan got up and closed his book, starting to walk to the lodge-building that Virgil saw when he first arrived. The others followed him, so he tagged along also, not wanting to be left with anyone he didn’t know. A few moments after he stood, the councilors started yelling for the kids to go to the Mess Hall for dinner. In the events of being here, Virgil hadn’t noticed the sun had started to set. He stopped to admire it and momentarily forgot everything around him.


	2. Don't Worry

Virgil 

“Virge?” He heard from behind. He spun around to see Roman holding the door for him. He giggled and motioned for the smaller boy to enter the camp's version of a cafeteria. "What a gentleman," Virgil laughed while walking past, playing into the part. Inside, they were serving chicken or steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. While they ate, Patton and Roman explained the basics of how things work there. Logan's nose stayed wedged in a book majority of dinner, making comments every so often based on what they were talking about. Roman wasn't a fan of the cookies, so Virgil split it with Pat. Though they had only known each other for a few hours, they were already on a nick-name basis. Mainly with Roman, he was definitely the flirty type. They respected Virgil's space, realizing how too much physical contact effected him, he also was fine with them touching him, as long it wasn't unexpected or sudden, as well as for too long. He was pretty used to Patton's hugs, though. Even Logan seemed powerless against them, but that's just Patton for ya.

They made their way back to the cabin to get ready for bed. Not that they were going to go to sleep, but the counselors said it was lights out in 15 minutes. The boys went inside and grabbed their stuff. Virgil grabbed some black shorts and t-shirt, the t-shirt having dark purple splotches covering it randomly. He turned to walk to the bathroom when he saw the others changing before him. Logan was already finished and had flopped onto his bed face-first. Patton was sliding on some pj pants, leaving on the same shirt. What really surprised him though, that caught his attention. When he turned, Roman was in the action of lifting his shirt to take it off. Oh frick. He thought. "Wait!" He yelled and the others turned to him, "you all change out h-here?" He struggled to keep the panic from his voice. "We're all guys," Patton said, confused. He glanced back at Roman and immediately regretted it. "But-" the words caught in his throat as his face darkened with blush.

Virgil froze, he willed his body to move, to run, but he couldn't. Tears were starting to prick the corners of his eyes. This was it. This is when he loses his friends and will be alone the rest of the summer. He swayed. "Whoa, Virge, are you ok?" Roman asked, now at his side. His arms were outstretched in cases the latter needed support, yet not touching him in case that would make it worse. "You don't understand," Virgil whispered. They could tell he was about to cry based on his tone. Logan and Roman looked pleadingly to Patton, who got the message and slowly approached Virgil. He deliberately took his hand and rubbed his back, not expecting that Virgil would collapse onto him. "Should I go get a counselor?" Logan asked, obviously uncomfortable but still wanting to help. "No, that might overwhelm him farther, can you two just, give us a minute?" The two exchanged a look before Roman dragged Logan out the door.

Virgil was shaking uncontrollably, tears rolled down his face as his breaths came fast and labored. Patton sat on Virgil's bed, and put him on his lap. He ran his fingers through Virgil's black and purple hair, and soothingly shushed him. After a few moments Virgil calmed, enough to speak at least. "Can you please tell me what that was about?" Pat asked softly. Virgil breathed shakily, he didn't want to say it. He prepared himself for yelling, to be thrown on the floor and looked at with disgust by the people he was finally becoming comfortable with. "P-pat," he started, "I'm gay." He held his breath, expecting to be pushed, slapped, scowled at. It never came. He looked up to see a small smile on Patton's face. "Silly boy," his smile widened, "we all are. That's why you were put in a cabin with us." Virgil froze in surprise for a moment, he couldn't help it. "Huh?"

Patt sat him up, still having him lean onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't bring it up sooner kiddo, I thought you knew." Hmm. So this was the "gay tent", or rather, cabin. "I'm surprised you hadn't noticed, even if you didn't know," Patton giggled, "Logan and I are actually currently dating. Roman was flirting with you the entire day, I bet 20 bucks he's got a crush on you." "But he flirts with everyone," Virgil retorted. "Ya," Pat confirmed, "but not as much as I've seen with you." Virgil blushed at those words and now realized, yes, he was an idiot. The signs were everywhere. A knock sounded on the door, "Can we come in?" It was Roman, "the counselors are gonna come check on us soon. I don't want to get in trouble.” "Ya," Patton responded. Virgil got off of Patton, thankful for the support, but thinking that was enough contact for now. They entered and looked concerned at Virgil. Patton was smiling. "What's the problem?" Logan asked, respecting Virgil's space and kept his distance. Roman, on the other hand, looked as if he was having a hard time not throwing himself at the darker presence. Virgil sighed and raised his hands weakly, giving Roman permission to hug him gently. "Ya, what's up?" He added as soon as Virgil was safe in his arms. "Mydark strange son, here," Virgil huffed playfully, "is also gay." 

Virgil felt Roman's arms tighten around him. His face heated up when he remembered Patton's words. Pat was a master at reading people and emotions, he had no doubt that Pat was correct. Roman let go, hesitantly, after a few moments, not wanting to cause another panic attack. It pained him to let Virgil be exposed back into the world, but Roman couldn’t hold him forever. "Ok! Lights out!" A man, one that Virgil had never seen before, entered the cabin. "Ah, hello," he said, reaching his hand out to Virgil, "My name is Joan, you must be the new kid. Nice to meet cha." Virgil shook his hand and quickly retreated his hands to his pockets, he'd done enough touching for one day. "If it makes you feel more comfortable," Patton said once Joan left, "we can take turns in the bathroom." He nodded, "thanks." After his own turn in the bathroom, after Patton, he saw that Roman was dressed. He must've changed while Virgil was gone. Exhausted, Virgil fell asleep immediately, it had been a long day.


	3. The New Kid

Roman

Thomas entered their cabin early, waking the boys for breakfast. “Good morning, you three, I have some news!” He exclaimed. “What is it?” Logan asked, rubbing his eyes. “You will be getting a new cabin-mate later today!” Excitement surged through Roman as he smiled and looked at the empty bed to his left. It would finally be filled. He quickly hopped out the door towards the Mess Hall, not waiting for Logan and Patton. They were serving waffles and strawberries for breakfast. Later, however, Roman was becoming impatient. He rambled to Logan about how long this new kid was taking as they wandered the open field. As the two walked on the edge of the far side, a white and black, spotted, baby bunny popped out from the tall, yellow grass. “Awwwwwwwww!” Roman exclaimed, it was so cute! Logan quickly bent down over the rodent to examine it while Roman bounded around, mostly squealing. He saw Patton enter the clearing and waved him over as Logan started scribbling in his notebook.

A few minutes later is when Roman met Virgil. And, oh boy, was he cute as frick. “Who're you?” He'd asked. The boy to whom he’d spoken to seemed to panic for a moment before Patton said that it was their new roommate. Roman was having a hard time not having an excited seizure. This beautiful creature was sharing a cabin with him? Could this summer get any better? Logan introduced himself and they shortly after made their way to dinner. The day had been fun, the new kid, Roman now knew was named Virgil, was awesome! He was funny, not too loud and had the perfect amount of sass. And it had only been the first day! When they entered their cabin for the night, Roman was greatly anticipating the days to come with this mysterious boy who claimed the bed next to his own, it was all he could think about. It was time for them to get changed, which hadn’t gone down that well with Virgil. Roman had gone to bed fairly annoyed that he couldn’t do much to help Virgil. 

That night, Roman woke to a quiet sound. Being mostly asleep, he couldn’t really tell what that soft noise was. He slowly opened his eyes, it was still dark out, rays of moonlight poured through the two windows on the far wall. The low sound that woke him continued. Roman slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes before glancing around. His eyes locked onto the source of the sound. Virgil was in an upright fetal position, and was quietly sobbing. His hands covered his face, so Roman couldn’t see most of it. Patton and Logan remained asleep, unaware of this. Roman carefully got up and made his way to the side of Virgil’s bed, being careful not to make any fast movements. When he got there, Virgil still hadn’t noticed the other. Roman calmly placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, causing the smaller boy to squeak in surprise and look up. Tear tracks stained his face. Virgil blinked, realising two more tears to roll down his face. 

“R-Roman? What are you doing awake?” He asked in a shaky voice. “I should be asking you that question,” Roman interjected. Virgil looked away, slightly embarrassed, it was his first day after all, and now someone who allegedly likes him just found him crying. Fabulous. Roman placed his hand on his hips stubbornly and awaited the other’s answer. “I, uh…, had a bad dream…,” Virgil mumbled into his sleeve. It was still hard for him to breathe steadily and he was hoping Roman would go back to sleep soon, because he couldn’t keep it together for long. “Oh…,” Roman sat at the edge of Virgil’s bed, “May I ask what about?” No, Virgil thought, he knew that he’d burst into tears if he tried. He managed to shake his head, and Roman nodded hesitantly. He wanted to help, but it was obvious from the last few hours that he’d known him that Virgil wasn’t a people person, and you had to gain his trust slowly. Roman heard Virgil hiccup again and looked over to the other. 

The dark haired boy had hidden his face in his arms once more. Roman felt his heart break as he watched his little Stormcloud, yes it was his little ball of lightning, be in so much distress. Roman took a deep breath and decided to do his best at comforting the other. He racked his brain for all the tips Pat had taught him on how to calm someone down. He got up so that he was on the other side of Virgil and rubbed the other’s back. Virgil lifted his head out of his arms, but still rested it on top of them. “Breathe in for four,” Roman said calmly. Virgil complied. “Hold for 7.” Virgil held his breath. “Out for eight.” Virgil exhaled and repeated the cycle a few more times. When he finally felt calm enough, he looked over to Roman who was still there next to him. “Uhh....thanks, for helping me, Ro. You really didn’t have to,” he said. Roman scoffed, “Of course I did! Why wouldn’t I?” Roman had managed to keep his cool with his normal overdramatic persona, but on the inside, he was freaking out. 

He called me “Ro”, oh my god he gave me a nickname. That’s so cute, can he get anymore adorable?! Virgil shrugged and looked away, there was a small smile on his face. As much as Roman’s loud banter can be annoying sometimes, he still found it amusing. Roman was just so genuine. They stayed like that for a while, until Roman was sure Virgil had fallen asleep. He carefully laid the other down and tip-toed to his own bed. The next day was cooler than the day before, as well as cloudy. Roman put on his favorite red and gold sweater. It had a gold crown on the front and his last name, Prince, on the back. Since Roman, Logan and Patton were used to waking up at the designated time, it was second nature. Virgil however, was still sleeping after they all got ready. Patton noticed and giggled, “Look at the little kiddo, I almost want to let him sleep.” Roman knew that was sleep the other needed, but the camp rules are rules. “He has to wake up,” Logan said, straightening his tie in the mirror, “we have to be in the Mess Hall in 7.52 minutes.” 

Patton crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue at his boyfriend playfully, “I know but look how adorable he is! He’s just like a little kitten!” “I... suppose…,” Logan responded and shrugged. He went over to Patton and kissed his forehead. “Hang on,” Patton excitedly whispered. He went out and grabbed a long piece of stiff yellow grass. “Watch this.” Roman and Logan observed curiously as Patton snuck to the side of Virgil’s bed and poked him a couple times in the nose. Virgil lifted a hand to itch his nose then went back to sleeping. Roman was focusing on holding in his giggles while Logan just shook his head with an amused smile. Patton waited a few minutes before poking him again. Virgil’s nose scrunched and he readjusted to face the other way. Patton walked away, having a hard time not laughing, he didn’t want to wake Virgil up that way. He walked back after composing himself but almost burst out again when he saw Roman in the same state.


	4. His Twin

Roman

Logan rolled his eyes, still smirking, and walked out the door. Patton went to the opposite side of Virgil’s bed and poked him once more. This time, Virgil’s eyes opened, confused and annoyed. Patton lost his composure and burst out laughing. Roman also lost it at the sight of Patton and they were both laughing. Virgil sat up, “What’s so funny?” “You sleep like a kitten!” Patton squealed and stuck out his tongue again. Virgil’s face became red and he looked over at Roman, who thought his little Stormcloud getting flustered was adorable and he knew there was at least a little pink on his face as well. “Uh...w-whatever…,” Virgil grumbled, getting up. He grabbed his bag and went to the bathroom. “You can go ahead, Pat,” Roman said and sat on his bed, “I’ll wait. Wouldn’t want Lo getting impatient, would we?” 

Patton scoffed, “I’ll have you know that Logan is one of the most patient people I’ve ever met!” They both chuckled. “Eeeewwww,” Roman teased, “grooooosssssss.” Patton laughed, “Ya, I’ll go catch up with him. See you in a little bit!” With that, he skipped out the door. What Roman didn’t know is that as soon as Patton found Logan, he was excitedly chirping about how Roman totally has a crush on Virgil, who had just exited the bathroom, changed out of his pjs. Roman was skimming through a book Patton had recommended him earlier, to see if it was any good. Virgil cleared his throat and Roman looked up. “Good morning,” he said as he stood, “The others already left and we should too if we want to be at breakfast on time.” Virgil nodded. They left for the Mess Hall, just making it there on time. That day there was eggs or french toast and bacon. 

That afternoon, Virgil and Patton were sitting on the front steps to their cabin. Because of the weather, there were no activities planned today. They were watching Logan tinker with some small robot. Roman was inside the cabin, but came back out and sat next to Virgil, who had his earbuds in and wasn’t paying attention. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around Roman’s shoulders, “Hey~, guys~.” Great. It was Remus. “How’s my favorite little brother doing~?” Roman huffed and Virgil noticed the other boy who had appeared and pulled out an earbud, raising an eyebrow. “Fine,” Roman grumbled, he loved his brother but he was just not in the mood for the other’s antics right now. Patton looked over at the voice’s source, “Oh, hey, Remus! What’s up?” “I don’t know, just bored,” Remus smirked and booped Roman’s nose, “thought I’d see what you guys are up to~.” Virgil was about to ask who this guy was when Remus laid eyes on him. “Oooh~, who is this~?” He asked squishing between Roman and Virgil and giving Virgil a confident side hug, oblivious to Virgil’s awkward surprise at the action.

“Remus…,” Roman said in a warning tone. Remus just looked over at him with a smile and slowly lifted his hands off Virgil walst retaining eye contact. “Roman, how rude of you, aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friend here?” Roman sighed and gestured to his brother, “Virgil, this is my brother, Remus,” he then motioned from Remus to Virgil, “Remus, Virgil.” “Charmed, I’m sure,” Remus chirped, still taking up much more of Virgil’s space than he appreciated. “Uhh…,” Virgil didn’t really know what to say and gave a pleading glance at Roman. “Bro…,” he started but was interrupted by Remus bouncing up and hopping over to Logan, “What-cha workin’ on there, Calculator Watch?” Virgil looked at Roman confusedly. He just shook his head. “My brother is definitely something else, that’s for sure. He doesn’t mean any harm, that’s just the way he is. Don’t worry, he’ll grow on you, trust me, Virge.” Virgil nodded and looked back to the others. Patton had joined the two by the little gadget and they were all laughing at something Remus had said. 

Virgil did trust Roman, so, he decided to keep an open mind about Remus, first impressions only said so much, after all. It started pouring shortly after, so they all settled on playing whatever board games they could find inside. Remus was still there, but Virgil found that he was ok. Aside from the occasional...disturbing remark and strange humor, Remus acted a lot like his brother. It was obvious they were very close. So far Patton had won two games of solitaire and Roman one game of slapjack. Logan even did a few card tricks. Remus stumbled upon a monopoly game, which they were in the middle of playing. Remus was the boat, Patton the dog, Logan the car, Roman a top hat and Virgil was the thimble. Somehow, Virgil had found his way onto Roman’s lap during their time playing. No one either noticed, or cared, including the two themselves. Virgil eventually fell asleep, so they put his money and property back into the game. Logan won.

The game had taken at least three hours and it was already dark. The rain had not let up, so a counselor showed up to take Remus back to his own cabin. “Ta-ta~,” he said before disappearing out the door. When it was time to get ready for bed, Roman finally made the connection that Virgil was in his lap, sleeping. Logan and Patton teased him a bit for being oblivious to his crush being on his lap for the last few hours. “Paaaaaatttt....,” Roman whined, “stooooop. What should I do? I don’t want to wake him up.” Patton shrugged and laid on his bed facing Roman. They talked for a while and Roman stayed in the same spot, determined to let Virgil get the sleep he needed. Logan always went to bed at the same time, so they knew there wasn’t much to do there. Patton eventually fell asleep as well and Roman was left alone. He was finally allowed to bask in what was happening.

He took a deep breath and carefully readjusted Virgil so he was carrying him bridal style and slowly stood up. Roman walked to Virgil’s bed and set him down. When he was about to tuck the other in, Virgil started shaking. Roman quickly grabbed onto him again and the shaking stopped. It wasn’t shivers, more like a panicked and desperate shake. Not knowing what else to do, Roman took Virgil to his own bed and laid them both down. Virgil wrapped his arms around Roman and hid his face in the other’s torso. Roman smiled and ran his fingers through his Emo Nightmare's hair. Before falling asleep, he could’ve sworn he’d heard a noise. Is that purring? The next morning, Patton blinked awake. It was still too early to get up, but the sun had already risen. He yawned and stretched, sitting up to readjust himself. He was not expecting what he saw. Roman and Virgil were asleep on Roman’s bed and were in the cutest position. He quickly scrambled to wake Logan to show the adorable display laid before him. But, apparently, he’d moved a little too fast, because the blanket caught his leg, sending him falling onto the floor with a loud yelp. “Pat..?” A voice came from the other side of the room. He’d woken Virgil up. Oops…


	5. Late Night Swim

Virgil

Patton cursed himself for what he’d just done and stayed still and quiet, hoping Virgil would just go back to sleep. Then there was a loud squeak. Patton looked up in time to see Virgil fall off the bed in surprise. Roman awoke from the commotion and Virgil stood again quickly, his cheeks burning. “What were you doing?” he asked, trying to keep his embarrassment from his voice. Patton quickly got off the floor and jogged over, he’d assumed that the two had gone to bed like that on purpose, and was now confused as to what was going on. “Hey, hey, hey, Kiddo, what’s going on?” Roman smacked a pillow over his face and grumbled something into it. Virgil ripped the pillow off again, now feeling fairly angry and wanting answers. “Why was I in your bed?” he demanded. Roman glared at the emo, he was not in the mood for this, this early in the morning. Patton didn’t know what to do, so he retreated back towards Logan’s bed, hoping to wake him up and get some help. 

“I put you on the bed with me because you slept horribly without me,” Roman huffed, “I didn't want to leave you like that, so I took you with me.” Virgil sat for a moment to let that sink in before slapping the pillow back over the other’s face and used his hands to cover his own. The red on his face deepened and was no longer in anger and confused embarrassment, but now in pure embarrassment on what had actually happened and how he had reacted. Logan refused to wake after a few minutes, so his boyfriend gave up and moved back towards Virgil. Roman removed the pillow on his face and saw Virgil cupping his hands over his own. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that’d upset you,” Roman blurted, thinking that he’d been too harsh or done something wrong and now Virgil was crying, “tell me what I did and I’ll never do it again!” He pulled Virgil towards him in desperation, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. 

Virgil just looked up and hated himself for not being able to help but smile. “You big idiot…,” he mumbled and looked at the other’s face. ...Until he remembered Patton was there and pushed back onto the bed, trying to ignore his burning face and ears. Patton and Roman exchanged a look of being completely lost as Virgil face planted onto his own bed. Patton shrugged and got back in bed, wondering what the heck he’d just experienced. Virgil was secretly waiting for Patton to go back to bed and once he was sure the fatherly figure had fallen back asleep, he slipped back into Roman’s bed and wrapped his arms around his torso. Roman opened his eyes and looked surprisingly at Vigil. “Don’t look too deep into it, Princey,” Virgil snapped while closing his eyes. Roman smiled to himself as he cuddled the emo closer and closed his eyes as well. 

When it was really time for the four to awake, a few hours later, Patton was surprised that they were on the same bed once again. After Logan had his own reaction to the two, they tried not to bring it up again, aside from Patton questioning what it was all about. He still wasn’t satisfied, but realized the others were getting slightly uncomfortable, and decided to leave it for the time being. Patton did however, notice that the two were being even more touchy today than the ones prior. Virgil wasn’t a big fan of too much contact but they seemed to always be touching the other in some way. He decided to talk to Logan about it once they were alone. It was a friday night, so there was an annual bonfire after dark and lights-out was pushed to much later. The four boys were watching the fire when Remus showed up, more like popped out of nowhere, and proposed they go night swimming. 

“I don’t know…,” Virgil said skeptically, “are we even allowed to?” Remus laughed and waved a hand dismissively, “It’s friday night, we’re allowed to do pretty much anything!” Virgil looked to his cabin-mates who nodded, confirming his statement. “Come on~,” Remus insisted, “swimming in the dark is the best!” Virgil thought about it, honestly, he didn’t like wearing a swimsuit, it made him feel self conscious, and now it would definitely be worse considering Roman would be there. The stormcloud almost fainted at the thought of Roman in a swimsuit. But, it could be a fun experience he could have with his new friends and it would be dark, anyway. Virgil nodded a little, not fully confident. “Yes!” Patton squealed excitedly, grabbing Logan’s arm and dragging his boyfriend to the cabin. “Fine,” Roman said, not really opposed to the idea, “as long as you keep your shorts on this time.” Virgil looked wide eyed at Roman then to Remus who laughed again, “Little ‘ol me? Of course~.” 

Virgil made sure to change last and it took quite a while because he couldn’t get the image of Roman out of his head, it was way worse than he’d expected, not that Virgil was exactly complaining. He wrapped a towel around his shoulders protectively before stepping out and joining the others. He had to follow them since he had no idea where he was going. Roman grabbed his hand as they walked through the dark fields, just enough light from the buildings was provided for the four to be able to see. Logan led the others to another cabin with gold “10” next to the door to wait outside. Virgil looked around, confused, and tapped on Patton’s shoulder, who was holding hands with Logan. Patton glanced at the smaller boy and tilted his head. “Why are we here?” Virgil asked once he had the father figure’s attention.


	6. The Unexpected

Virgil 

Patton smiled and gestured to the building, “This is Remus’ cabin, we’re just waiting for him to come out.” Virgil nodded in understanding, mouthing an “oh”, and continued to look around the area. Though Roman, Logan and himself were wearing trunks, Virgil was surprised to see Patton when he first exited the bathroom, wearing a one piece suit. It was sleeveless and covered his torso, it also had a little shirt attached to the bottom. Surprising, sure, but it suited him (dad pun intended), well. Remus soon came bounding out of the cabin in swim shorts and a lime colored towel slinked over his shoulder. Logan paid it no mind and continued walking past the cabin. Virgil nervously eyed Remus, now skipping on Roman’s other side, still not accustomed to the other’s presence. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but he couldn’t really help it, Remus’ personality was just a little too intense for the anxious bean. Virgil could now see that they were nearing water. The trees around it were thinning and a wooden dock was exposed on the edge, leading into the dark liquid. 

Remus ran to the dock, giggling like there was no tomorrow, he yelled, “Last one in the water is a pussing pig spleen!” Virgil stopped short in shock and disgust, everyone else seemed to be rolling with it. Patton let go of Logan’s hand and began running after Roman’s brother. “Nuh-uh!” he yelled while gaining on the one in green. “Catch me if you can Patty-cakes!” Remus shouted back. Logan met Virgil’s confused gaze and shrugged. Roman took back his attention when he squeezed the other’s hand and looked excitedly over at him, “Come on Virge,” he exclaimed, “let’s go!” Roman started playfully jogging after the other two and Virgil joined in, actually racing now. He blew past Roman and even Patton, gaining on Remus, who had the biggest head start. Virgil had always liked running, especially on rugged terrain, it helped him calm his nerves and forget all his problems for a few moments. “Whoa-, hey!” Roman exclaimed before pursuing the obviously faster boy. 

To not fall too far behind, Logan also started running. Remus made it to the dock first, Virgil very shortly behind him. Patton slowed and hopped up after them, hunching forward and panting. “I didn’t-*huff*-know you could run like that kiddo-*huff*,” Patton managed between gasps. Remus was standing on the edge of the dock, also breathing hard, facing the others, his back to the water. Roman and Logan weren’t too far behind. Surprisingly, Virgil was in the best state out of all of them, even though he’d run the fastest. He found himself smiling, it felt good to be out like this. Remus turned back to the water, folding up his towel and setting on on the dock. He dipped his foot into the water before bringing it out again and giving is a shake. “The water’s actually pretty warm,” he said turning back. “Well, it is the middle of summer,” Logan commented blatantantly, pushing up his glasses. Roman rolled his eyes. 

Remus faced back forward, planning to jump into the pitch liquid. Then there was-...was that light? He could’ve sworn he’d seen a dim pool of light ripple from the stream, even if just for a moment. He furrowed his rowand crouched for a closer look. Patton appeared a few feet behind him, “What’re you doing, Kiddo?” At that moment, another trickle of blue-tinted light tricked out from the depths. Patton also saw it this time. They both stayed in curious silence, Roman and Logan bickering about something behind them. Though Patton was interested, he had a greater duty to keep the argument from escalating any farther. Virgil was watching in quiet amusement. Something raised out of the water. Remus swallowed a gasp as two eyes stared back at him. Just the top of a head was surfaced above the water up to the eyes. Remus stared back and managed a small wave. The dispute behind him was starting to calm at that moment that the head raised higher until it was all the way out of the water.

Fins were on either side of what Remus could now see was a ‘he’, or at least most likely. Scales lined the left side of his face, the eye on the same side was cloudy and glazed over, contrasting to his other green eye. “-What. Is. That?!” Logan exclaimed when he caught a glimpse at the figure, who then lowered back down in surprise, just his eyes visible again. Virgil creeped up slowly to look at the mystery being. He calmly tilted his head to the side, which the figure copied. He then waved and smiled lightly. The others also carefully approached to get a look. He raised his head from the water once again. “Hello…,” Patton tried, not quite sure what to expect. “Hello,” they responded, a small smile on their own face. Logan got as close to being excited as Logan can get. “Would you mind coming closer,” he asked, very intrigued. He shifted closer to the dock and pulled himself up. The others backed up slightly to give him room. 

They all couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, scales covered his back and parts of his arms, leading down to his tail. “Are you a mermaid!” Roman blurted excitedly. The stranger looked confused and shook his head. Logan cleared his throat which the others had picked up as a sign that he was abou to “nerd out” as Roman called it. “I believe, from what I see, that he is what is known as a siren. A creature of Greek mythology, most commonly blamed for luring sailors to their deaths with their enchanting songs.” Patton looked wide eyed at the stranger and clung to Logan’s arm. The stranger raised his hands in surrender-like motion, “Oh, no, I’m nothing like that, I promise, I won’t bring any of you any harm.” “So I was correct..?” Logan pursued, he received a nod in response. “I wish I had my notebook…,” he fanboyed to himself. “So, what’s your name?” Remus asked, Virgil and Roman seemed to both have shut down in different ways. 

The creature hesitated for a bit before taking a deep breath, “My name is Janus.” They stayed and talked with the stranger, and he told them about living within his own civilization in exchange for how life was on land. Before any of them knew it, it was past midnight. Patton was having a hard time keeping his eyes open but he felt bad about just leaving Janus alone. Logan did notice, however, and he didn’t like when Patton sacrificed his own self-care for the sake of others, “Patton. I think it’s time we get you to bed. Speaking of, I believe it is an appropriate time for all of us to head back.” Virgil rubbed his eyes and stretched and Roman nodded begrudgingly. But Remus was a little more reluctant. “Do you think we could hang out again?” Virgil asked with a yawn. “Actually,” Janus mumbled hesitantly, “could I come with you now?” The five looked at him with confusion. 

“We can’t exactly…,” Logan started, gesturing to the other’s tail. Janus just shook his head, “No...just-can I have a towel?” Roman handed over his white towel curiously. Janus started to dry himself off and eventually his fins and scales were replaced by skin, he had legs. He quickly wrapped the towel around his torso and stood up, wobbling a bit before regaining his balance. He looked up to see them all staring at him, jaws dropped with shock. “I've, uh, never done this before so...a little help?” Remus ended up slinging one of Janus’ arms over his shoulders and helping him try to walk back to the camp grounds. They parted ways with the others and Remus made sure they were quiet as they entered his cabin. “That towel must be uncomfortable, let me get you some shorts or something?”


	7. Shorts

Janus

“What the heck?” Virgil couldn’t help but exclaim as he stared in awe. Janus stood, almost falling as he asked for help. Janus had always been told stories about how his species had the ability to walk the earth, he’d just never had the guts to try. Apparently, these land creatures were very dangerous and risking them finding out what you are could put you in a lot of trouble. Keeping their existence a secret was the safest way to survive. His mother was a key example, she despised humans. She’d fallen in love with one once, one that she’d met when they were both pups. But when her beloved grew into a man he leaked her secret and almost ended up getting her killed. ‘Nothing but selfish tyrants,’ she’d often called them. But Janus had always had a hard time seeing them as ‘dangerous’ as he watched them, always hidden away by the water, especially the small ones. Any stories his people had of dangerous humans involved the adults, not children. He’d figured that if anyone could help him experience the world, it was the human pups. 

The one in algae colored shorts, Remus was his name, went over to Janus to help him walk back to their living area. “How did you do that?!” Patton asked, not sure if he should help the sea creature walk as well. “It’s a legend that I’ve always heard as a kid,” the other answered, “I never believed it was actually true. I’m just as surprised as any of you.” Logan was kind of circling around the two, trying to observe this creature from all angles. “Fascinating…,” he muttered at the shorter boy’s statement. “But there is one thing…,” Janus started, regaining all of the others’ attention, “If the stories are true, I can’t get my legs wet. Add even a little water and boom-tail. Wow, that’s something I never thought I would say, my legs.” “No water, got it,” Patton chirped. He no longer seemed to be that tired anymore. “Actually, no, I still need water. My legs can’t get wet but I still need to stay hydrated. Dehydration is one of the most common ways for one of my kind to expire.” “So how do we do that-keep you hydrated I mean?” Virgil piped up. 

He felt like he was in a sci-fi movie and at any time government agents were gonna come out of nowhere to take the creature away. Janus shrugged, “Just drinking a lot and getting wet every once in a while should be enough.” Virgil hummed and nodded, looking around once more, trying to memorize the route back to the water. When they got back to the camp grounds, which Janus had assumed to be their village, a new question arose. “Where are we going to put him?” Roman asked, feeling stupid that none of them had thought about this sooner. “Well, it is most likely smarter if he stays in our cabin, since we all know about him anyway,” Logan suggested, “plus then we can all make sure that none of the adults find him.” They all stopped in front of Remus’ cabin. “What are we doing here,” Virgil asked. “I’m coming too and I am definitely not sleeping in my swimsuit. I’m here to get my things and whatever so he and I can sleep in your guys’ cabin,” Remus sassed back, matching Virgil’s tone. 

Virgil backed off and slunk back next to Roman. “You guys go ahead, we’ll meet you there in a bit.” They nodded and the four left for their own cabin. Remus quietly led the other into the cabin. He threw his towel onto his unkempt bed and rummaged through his bag for clothes. “That towel must be uncomfortable, let me get you some shorts or something?” he asked, looking at Janus who was standing there curiously looking around. He cocked his head to the side, “Shorts?” Remus shook his head and grabbed a pair of plaid pajama pants and held them out, “Here, put these on.” Janus took the pants and stared at them for a second. Remus ended up having to help the water dweller put on this alien form of clothing before he quickly changed into something comfortable as well and grabbing a couple blankets. Janus was starting to get the hang of walking, though he was still a bit tottery, so he was mostly able to walk on his own on the way to the other four’s cabin. 

With said others, the walk back was mostly silent. Upon arriving, the normal charade of changing clothes happened as it usually would, Patton would change in the bathroom first, then Logan and Roman would while Virgil had his turn. They all scoured for any extra blankets and pillows they could find. “My god I am exhausted,” Virgil huffed, stretching his back and falling onto Roman, “Once my head touches the pillow, it’s gonna be lights out.” Patton giggled, followed by a yawn. His tiredness was apparently catching up to him once again. Logan was draped over his bed scribbling intently in that navy hardcover notebook. A knock sounded on the door which Logan answered. Remus paraded in with Janus, plopping his stuff in a pile on the floor, “The fun has arrived~,” he said in a sing-song tone. “You didn’t give him a shirt?” Logan half-scolded. “I gave him some pants and am letting him use some of my blankets. One of you give him a shirt.” “Oh come on, it’s just a shirt,” Logan shot back obviously annoyed. While a small argument started to ensue, Virgil tugged on Roman’s shirt. 

“Can I...uh...talk to you real quick?” he asked signalling with his body language towards the back door. “Uh, sure, of course, what’s wrong?” Roman answered, he could tell something up if Virgil wanted them to talk alone, not to mention just the way he was acting as he asked. Virgil walked to the back door and outside. Roman followed after looking back at the others and figuring they’d be fine for a few minutes. It was dark on the back stoop, the two of them were only lit by the dim light right above the wooden door. Roman closed the door behind them. “Is there something going on? If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything that has happened today-,” Roman started babbling but was interrupted by a calm and soft voice, almost too quiet for him to make out, “No, it’s not about that…” Roman felt relieved and more nervous at the same time. Ok, Virgil was fine and not overwhelmed, fairly calm actually, that’s good. But what else could this be about? Why did he want to talk with him alone? Had he done something wrong? Virgil looked and Roman in the eyes and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. 

“Look...this is really hard for me to say so…, I don’t know….,” he sighed and looked away. Though the lighting was utterly horrible, Roman was positive he saw a redness creep onto Virgil’s face. This made butterflies dance within the depths of his stomach. The heck is happening? He could only stand and wait, finding himself speechless for the first time in forever. “It’s kind of hard to explain…,” Virgil started, not entirely sure how to word it yet, “I’m not really sure what it is and I figured if I told you then you might have an answer for me.” Roman was unintentionally holding his breath. Virgil closed his eyes and breathed slowly while thinking of what to say. “Just say what you’re thinking,” Roman said in a soothing voice. “Um, okay, well, when I’m near you I’m always happy...and when you smile it makes my entire day.” Roman’s heart was racing. “Every time you wrap your arms around me my stomach twists. I feel like laughing and puking at the same time. But it’s a great feeling, I’d never want it to go away.” 

Virgil stopped mid-rant and cringed at himself, looking at Roman, “What is happening to me?” Tears were starting to prick his eyes. Roman took the other into a hug. Virgil was now crying, but it wasn’t a sad cry, nor a happy one. “Oh, my dear Chemically Imbalanced Romance, I thought you knew you were gay,” Roman chuckled, wiping away Virgil’s tears. “I mean, I’ve really only been attracted to guys, but these feelings are completely new to me,” Virgil let himself stare into the taller’s eyes. Roman’s hands stayed on the other’s faces and Virgil put his own hands over them. Their faces were inches away. “It’s called a crush, Little Emo.” “Ya, I pretty much got that.” They both giggled. “So what does that mean? You don’t seem very horrified at that breakthrough, could it be that the feelings are mutual?” Virgil asked, leaning a bit closer. “What do you think?” was the response. “All right, that is enough!” sounded from the other side of the thin door.


	8. Day Of Chaos

Janus 

Both boys jumped away at the sudden burst, and looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Roman pulled open the door. “Pat...you okay?” Virgil asked. Patton was standing between Logan and Remus with his arms out, pushing them away from each other. The father figure’s face was a bright, angry red. “I’ll give him a bloody damn shirt!” Patton grabbed a gray t-shirt and a little too harshly, threw it at Janus, who was quietly cowering under Roman’s bed. He didn’t mean to, but he was still angry. “God!” he yelled while storming out. Everyone looked dumbfounded at the door after him. “The heck did you two do?!” Virgil almost yelled. Remus and Logan looked at each other, “Uh…” Virgil ended up going after Patton while others set up sleeping spots for Remus and Janus on the floor. Patton didn’t look at Logan when they arrived back inside, just went straight to bed. 

Logan for sure noticed it and was not that happy with himself, but found it pointless to push it any farther. Once he was sure they were all sleeping, Virgil once again crawled into Roman’s bed. “Took you long enough,” Roman teased in a whisper. Virgil just rolled his eyes and snuggled into the taller’s chest, who wrapped his arms around him. In the morning do Janus bouncing around excitedly. “The sun is up, it’s a new day! What are we going to do?!” he asked, still moving around quite a bit. “First of all,” Logan yawned, stretching annoyingly, “we all have to get ready for breakfast.” Virgil groaned when Roman started to move to get up and retreated under the blanket, “Nooooooo, I don’t wanna get uuuuuuuup...sleeeeeeeep…” Roman pulled the blanket off of him, fairly amused “No, we can’t be late, Hot Topic.” Virgil hid his face by turning to the bed, “It’s early, we’ll be fine…,” he whined. The thing to finally get him out of bed was Patton cooing about how cute they were. 

Janus ended up borrowing another t-shirt from Patton and some shorts from Roman. Sneaking Janus into the Mess Hall was quite the struggle. Him wanting to talk to literally anyone they passed didn’t help. Once they were inside, Patton stayed with the creature at a table while the others got them all food. Virgil sat down, sliding a tray of bacon and eggs in Janus’ direction. He stared at it for a moment. “What do I do with this?” He asked, pointing to the tray. They all looked at each other, then to him. “Uh, you eat it,” Logan answered. “Oh…” They spent the rest of the day basically giving Janus a tour of the camp, alst while avoiding the counselors and other campers. Waltz running around, they bumped into Thomas. “Oh, hey guys! What have you all been up to, I haven’t seen you lately,” he chirped. Remus pulled Janus behind one of the cabins and covered him in a lavender curtain that was drying on a nearby clothes line.   
“Shh!” he exclaimed, raising a finger to his lips. 

“Uh...just messing around…,” Roman said, shrugging. The rest nodded. “Oh, look, the squirrel went that way!” Virgil exclaimed and grabbed Logan’s arm, towing him towards where Remus and Janus were hiding. “Distract him away from here,” he mouthed to the other two. He pulled Logan behind the cabin, “We’ve gotta get him out of here!” “Having fun I presume?” Thomas asked, looking after the other two. Patton an Roman looked at each other nervously. Patton smiled and nodded, “Ya...we were just...chasing a baby squirrel!” He jumped up as he exclaimed it, riding on Virgil’s given excuse. Roman nodded along, “Ya, it was soooo cute!” Thomas laughed, “So that’s where they’re off to then, huh?” The two kids tried their best to look convincing. “Why not?!” came from a bit behind the boys, from where their newest friend was supposedly hiding. “What’s that?” Thomas asked, looking concerned in that direction. “Uh, nothing!” Roman said quickly. “Oh, I hope Lo and Remus aren’t fighting again,” Patton gasped, starting towards the other four kids. 

“Wait, if something’s wrong, maybe I should come with-,” “NO!” Roman and Patton interrupted at the same time. The adult looked at them, fairly confused. “I mean, nah, I’m sure it’s not too bad. Usually I can take care of it just fine,” the fatherly child managed, “Plus, it will probably be less messy if it’s just me in oppose to getting you involved.” “Yea, so let's go see what’s going on!” Roman exclaimed, linking arms with Patton and hopping away before Thomas could ask anything more. The counselor stood there for a few moments in utter confusion until Joan stepped up next to him, “You good?” “I will never understand those three,” he responded, laughing. “You can’t let them see you because we’ll get in trouble!” Virgil explained for the hundredth time when Roman and Patton joined them in their hiding place. Remus was doing his best to keep Janus from blowing their cover. With the help of Roman, and convincing from Patton; Logan and Remus were able to drag the sea creature away from any other human beings. Virgil went to get some chalk to distract Janus from doing anything else risky. He was absolutely mystified by it. Patton was amused by how he reacted and took everyone being preoccupied to pull Logan aside. 

“I know this is kinda random but have you noticed V and Ro have been acting a bit different the last couple days?” He asked once they were out of earshot. Logan rubbed his chin in thought. “I just thought to ask you since you’re so observant.” “Mind elaborating?” Logan asked. “I don’t know; being flirty, always touching, overall just magneting towards each other,” Patton shrugged. The taller smirked and nodded, “Oh, absolutely. I’ve noticed very many things consistent with that for a while. Did you notice that they both disappeared last night while Remus and I were arguing?” Patton’s face morphed into a gasp, “Oh my god they did!” Logan wasn’t one to be too interested in emotions and whatnot, but he couldn’t deny how adorable his boyfriend was. “I’m still angry at you for that,” the shorter teased. Logan could tell he was playing. “Oh, I’m sorry, My Dearest. However can I make it up to you?” He played along. Patton giggled. “We’ll see~,” he responded, bounding back towards the others, leaving Logan standing there. Well. I’m in trouble. He shook his head and followed back towards the others. He stopped when he heard a loud snap from the woods behind him.


	9. Nighttime Shenanigans

Logan

Logan turned and gazed around cautiously. “You coming, Teach?” Roman asked from the group. Logan looked back and shook his head, “Indeed.” He jogged to catch up. Janus had kneeled curiously by a flower, and Patton joined to explain what it was. Logan noticed that Virgil was glancing around quite a bit, seemingly feeling the same uneasiness. He cleared his throat to get the shorter’s attention, who flinched a bit at the sound. Virgil calmed when he saw Logan. “Ya?” he asked sheepishly. “You feel it as well?” Logan asked, gesturing randomly around them with his hand. The other looked at him in confusion. “Let me elaborate. Something feels off.” Virgil understood. He’d felt as though they were being watched for a small while, a feeling he couldn’t quite shake. The quickly setting sun didn’t help either. “Oh-uh, yea…,” he looked at the other four, “Maybe we should get inside.” Logan nodded and patted Patton’s back, making him stand with a questioning look. Roman took the opportunity to hop up to Virgil’s side and throw his arm over the younger’s shoulders out of instinct. 

“And how are you, my Cloud of Darkness?” he teased. That was really bad, Virgil thought with a smirk. “Fine, thanks. But we should get inside,” the emo replied, ignoring the burning of his face. Roman hummed and nodded, smiling to himself at the slowly increasing amount of pink on the Stormcloud’s face. He was fairly surprised when he saw his brother, who had picked the yellow-orange flower to put it in Janus’ hair, just behind the ear. “Well I’ll be…,” he whispered mainly to himself. Roman casually pointed at the two, signaling to Virgil to look that way. They chuckled to themselves but didn’t say anything, at least to Janus and Remus. “Rat Man’s got a crush,” Virgil teased in a hushed tone, “guess he does have feelings after all.” “It is so going to be great for blackmail purposes,” the taller added. Virgil smirked and poked Roman’s arm, “you better let me in on that.” He nodded in response. However, Virgil’s smile faded as another pang of uneasiness flowed through him. 

He pulled the other to walk faster, in order to catch up with their friends, but really just wanted them all to hurry up. He wanted the feeling making his hairs stand on end to go away. When they got back, Patton had an Idea to calm Virgil’s nerves by making a huge fort out of blankets and pillows that they all slept in. Logan and Patton were cuddled in one of the corners. Roman put on some conspiracy theory videos and shared his earbuds with Virgil. Remus was exhausted and fell asleep on Roman’s bed as soon as they got back, unable to aid in the building of the fort because of it. Janus was tossing and turning quite a bit. Surprisingly, the couple laying next to him stayed knocked out. “You think they’re dead?” Virgil whispered to Roman pointing to the two. “Maybe,” he whispered back and went to poke Patton’s cheek. The boy sneezed before he could touch his face, making Roman recoil in surprise. Virgil also jumped back and laughed at them both. 

“That’s it, he’s too restless, my brother can deal with him,” Roman said, leaning down over Janus. “Wait, what’re you doing?” Virgil asked. Roman picked the creature up and turned to Virgil, smirking, “Helping my bro out with his little crush.” He set Janus on the bed with his brother, scooting them close together. “He’s gonna be a wreck when he wakes up,” Roman chuckled, sitting back down. Virgil looked at Logan and his boyfriend, a happy little pile of interlocked limbs. Then at Roman, who was distracted by the video. He thought about the moment they’d shared the day before. He took a breath, closed his eyes and took a chance. Virgil planted a quick peck on Roman’s cheek and looked back at the video like nothing happened. Roman’s head snapped to the other, his face already a deep red. “What?” Virgil asked blatantly. “What was that?” Roman sputtered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A loud scream made them both jump. Darn it, video, Virgil thought as he turned the phone off. 

“What a mood ruiner,” the older boy chuckled. Virgil huffed and looked away, his nerves catching up to him because of the unexpected noise. He wanted to find a hole to hide in for the next five years. “Hey, hey, calm down, All American Terror. I know, I am irresistible,” Roman said, putting his hand to his chest.Virgil snored and turned back, raising an eyebrow. Roman smiled and winked making the younger laugh. “That’s better, good now?” Virgil nodded, trying to calm his giggles. “I think it’s about time we go to bed,” the taller said, laying down and opening his arms so Virgil could join him, “Cuddles?” The response was a nod and snuggles until they both fell asleep, to which was awoken the next morning to a high pitched scream. Logan jumped up, his glasses starting to fall off his face, “Where’s the fire?!” Remus was on the floor, Janus was looking wide-eyed at him. 

“What happened?” Patton asked, rubbing his eyes. “He screamed and fell off this cushiony rectangle,” Janus said, pointing. “That girly scream was you?” Roman exclaimed in surprise, rubbing his eyes. Remus huffed and stood up, “Girly?! I’ll show you girly!” The older twin tried lunging at his brother but was grabbed by the collar of his shirt by Logan. “Hey, guys?” Patton was standing by the window, gazing out, “You might want to come here.” Virgil joined the fatherly child by the window, gasping at the scene outside. There were men in cop-like suits everywhere and Thomas was seemingly in a deep conversation with one of them. There were no kids or other councilors outside at all. “What’s this all about?” the shortest asked, hoping that the others would have a likely reason. No one had an answer. “Maybe we should go see,” Logan thought aloud, “Roman, Pat, come with me. Remus, Virgil, stay with Janus. We should be right back.” Virgil nodded and Remus went back to Janus, helping him off the bed so he could see what was going on. 

The three made their way to Thomas, weaving through the officers who littered the yard. “What on Earth is going on?” Roman asked when they were close enough to the head councilor. “Look, I’m not exactly sure but these people have asked that everyone stay inside, so I have to ask that you kids go back to your cabin for now,” Thomas answered trying to usher them back. The man that he’d been speaking to prior snapped to get the boys’ attention. “We’re here for a very particular reason, a dangerous creature that we’d been tracking for the last month disappeared around this area. Don’t worry, we’ll find and put an end to it. If any of you see anything, tell me immediately. Got it?” The boys exchanged a nervous look before Patton found his tongue, “Uh...yes Sir! Thank you for protecting us! We’ll go now.” The man nodded and motioned for them to go ahead. They ran back to the cabin and slammed the door. “What happened?” Remus asked when he saw how on edge they all were.


	10. It Is Goodbye

Logan

“They’re looking for Jan…,” Logan managed, “Who knows what they would do with him? We need to get him out of here for his and our sake.” The sea creature stared at Logan wide eyed and bit his lip in guilt. “I should’ve stayed home,” he mumbled to himself, “then none of this would be happening.” Virgil didn’t like the worried atmosphere that surrounded them all, from experience he knew it wasn’t long before it got to all of them. Since he didn’t do well in those kinds of situations, so he wanted to stop it from happening. “Ok, guys, we need to take a step back and calm down. We need to think about this with a clear mind, worrying won’t get us anywhere,” he tried to sound logical and not let his own stress show through. Logan took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “You’re right. Janus, is there anywhere we can get you to that will be safe?” Janus rubbed his arm and looked at the floor, deep in thought. Finally he replied, “Ya.” 

He told of how if they could get him back to the water without any of the men noticing, he could easily make it back home. However, once Janus went back into the water, his mother would know where he was and he wouldn’t be able to come back. “My mother is very protective,” he said almost sadly, “If she comes here, she would definitely hurt anyone in this area.” “So if you leave, we’ll never see you again.” Patton gasped. It wasn’t a question. “We have to,” Logan intervened, they all knew it was true. Remus, however, seemed to be taking it the worst. Roman put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “It’s so we can make sure he’s safe.” Remus huffed and grumbled what was probably a response, “I knooowwwww.” The entire sight was swarming with officers, so they had to find a way to make it to the river unnoticed. Logan watched how the men outside searched, trying to pick out any possible patterns. Virgil was pacing and chewing his nails, Roman and Patton trying to calm him down. 

Janus was half on Remus’ lap as they sat on Patton’s bed, talking to try and distract themselves from the circumstances. There was an opportunity to go, Logan knew that the area around the treeline leading to the river would be unguarded shortly for a small period. Now he just had to think of a way to get them out of the open and into the safety of the trees. A good distraction would work beautifly, but that would mean some of them would have to stay back. He told the others of his plan and asked for ideas of what a good distraction would be that they could put together quickly. Remus was good at these kinds of things, he had loads of ideas almost immediately. Though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see the water dweller off, it would give him a chance to escape, which is what was actually important. He decided that that’s what he wanted to do and stood up, calling attention, “I may know a way~.” 

“I’m not sure I like this plan,” Patton hummed nervously. Remus was going to act like he’d been hurt and Roman was going to also stay back to call attention away from the others as Logan would lead them away to avoid any cops. Remus’ original idea was to actually be decently injured but Patton and Janus talked him out of it. As soon as the four started towards the treeline, Remus let out the most bloodcurdling scream in existence. Roman had to cover his ears because of how close he was. “Really?” he whisper-complained. Remus just shrugged and focused on trying to make himself cry. Roman composed himself before running out frantically. “What was that?!” Thomas asked worriedly, running up to Roman, a few of the other men following out of weary curiosity. “Remus got hurt, I don’t know what happened-come on, follow me!” He winked at the four other boys who were nearly safely out of sight. 

The group ducked behind the trees. Janus shrugged off the lime green sheet that had covered him and slung it over his arm. The area was much cooler in contrast because of the thick shade. Logan and Patton were the only ones who knew the way, so Virgil and Janus followed in silence. “Excited to go home?” Virgil asked, trying to start up a conversation. Janus just shrugged. Sure he was happy to be back home, but this was the first time he’s ever been out of the water. Now he was never going to see these kind human pups ever again. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it though, his time here had been nothing but great. Janus was slightly sad that Remus wasn’t coming along, the last time he’d ever see the strange child had already passed. Patton and Logan’s hands were intertwined between them, the shorter was chewing the inside of his cheek. Logan rubbed his thumb over his boyfriend’s hand in a soothing motion. He looked up and smiled, giving the other a half hug and continued walking like that. 

They soon came to the dock, looking into the tinted water as it flowed calmly. “Here we are…,” Patton said, looking back to Janus. “Friends?”he asked, holding out his arms in a motion asking for a hug. “Friends.” They hugged for a moment before breaking apart. Logan shook his hand, feeling slightly awkward with a hug. Janus managed to weasel a hug out of Virgil, which he allowed because of the fact that he would never get the chance to again. “Take care of yourself,” Virgil sighed as he helped Janus lower into the water. “As to you,” the creature giggled. He plopped under for a second and the water around him lit up as when they’d first met him. His head emerged once again and he threw a wet shirt and shorts onto the dock, “tell Rem thanks.” Patton picked up the garments but handed the shirt back to him, “Here, keep it. Remember us, okay?” He took the shirt and slid it back on, “How could I forget?” He smiled brightly before disappearing back under, “Hold on a sec.” 

He popped back up and handed something to Patton. It was five necklaces, each with a small, different color shell. “Now you’ll always have proof that I existed,” he laughed. Patton wiped a few tears from his eyes, “Thank you, Jan.” Logan took Patton to back up and stand back on land. Virgil waved on more time with a sad smile, slipping on the necklace Patton had handed him. Even though the six of them with part ways, they will all be connected. Janus smiled back at them before turning and swimming away. “Who knows, maybe one day…,” Virgil trailed off, but there was no reason to finish the sentence. “Let’s go back,” the tallest insisted, “We still have to give Roman and Remus their gifts.” Hand in hand, the three walked back to the campsite, a feeling of accomplishment enveloping them at saving their friend. They’d each have a token of this experience, and just maybe, someday, it would call them back to the sea.


End file.
